GameTap expands Atari relationship

Today GameTap announced and extended deal with Atari for distribution rights to several classic and modern Atari titles. This new agreement grants GameTap rights to a selection of Atari’s stellar and renews GameTap’s rights to distribute Atari’s classic console and arcade catalog. Atari’s games will be available through GameTap’s games-on-demand service and digital retail store. A few examples of the new games headed to GameTap thanks to this new arrangement: the 2008 release of Alone In The Dark, Indigo Prophecy, King’s Bounty, the Master Of Orion series, the Neverwinter Nights series, the excellent Test Drive Unlimited, The Witcher and Arma Combat Operations.

Originally launched by TBS in 2005, GameTap went on to merge with Metaboli merged in September of 2008 to form a new global network dedicated to the digital distribution of games. Metaboli has established distribution partnerships with many of the world’s leading internet, gaming, and e-commerce portals including Virgin Media, Game, Orange, Free, Neuf Telecom, AOL, Club-Internet, fnac, Telecom Italia, Wind, Web.de, Gamesradar, Eurogamer, pcgames.de and computec.de.

Rumor: Atari and Cryptic working on Neverwinter Nights Online game

Chris Morris reports that sources close to either Atari or Cryptic Studios have confirmed that the pair want to create a massively multiplayer online role-playing game based on Neverwinter Nights. The article goes on to say that this was Atari’s intention all along when it decided to purchase Cryptic Studios. Cryptic is currently working on two games right now: Star Trek Online and Champions Online. With Atari owning both wizards of the Coast (who in turn own the old TSR Dungeons & Dragons license) and Cryptic Studios (who happens to own the Champions RPG property) it makes perfect sense to create an MMO based on the popular RPG series that BioWare — and later Obsidian — helped to make popular through its games and expansion packs.

Naturally there are no details on this alleged MMO project but we’ve sent a request for comments out to various parties in hopes of getting an official response.

And it should be noted that Neverwinter Nights Online, would not be the first Neverwinter Nights online game. that distinction belongs to publisher Strategic Simulations, Inc., America Online and developer Stormfront Studios. Neverwinter Nights was the first MMORPG to display graphics and provide large scale game play sessions through an online service. The game ran from 1991 to 1997 on AOL — and at its peak cost a whopping $6 an hour to play. Eventually, as the internet became more prevalent in American households, the hourly rate was dropped altogether by AOL, who would later roll it into its suite of services for subscribers. By the end of the game’s life it had over 100,000 subscribers. Pretty impressive if you consider that games like Ultima Online and EverQuest 2 didn’t exist at that time.

Rest in Peace: Dave Arneson, D&D Co-Creator

Dave Arneson, co-creator of the ultra popular the Dungeons and Dragons pen and paper role-playing, Dungeons & Dragons. has died at the age of 61,  according to an email sent out by his family. His partner Gary Gygax, who helped create D&D, died in March of last year. It is indeed a sad day, but we can take comfort in the fact that just about every role-playing game after D&D is derivative of the system this duo created.

Arneson and Gygax continue to have a profound influence on the interactive entertainment industry, fantasy fiction, and creative endeavors in general. Dungeons & Dragons has had an influence on me as well - most notably when it comes to video games. My love of the Gold Box series of role-playing games from SSI, Baldur’s Gate I and II, Eye of the Beholder, the Dragonlance series, Icewind Dale, Planescape, Neverwinter Nights and hundreds of others games is the reason I am here today writing. These and thousands of other games simply would not exist if not for Arneson and Gygax’s creative vision.

We offer our condolences to Arneson’s loved ones. Thanks, Game | Life.

Dragon Age Toolset Planned

If you liked the tools that Bioware provided for its Neverwinter Nights role-playing game series then take heart in the fact that a toolset is planned for its next big RPG - Dragon Age. The company announced today that it will deliver content-creations tools to the gaming community with the release of its game. the company is also showing off these tools for the very first time at the Penny Arcade Expo in the Washington State Convention & Trade Center today through Sunday.

Attendees of the Penny Arcade Expo will be the first to see the new toolset in action as BioWare will provide a live demonstration of some of its features and capabilities. The Dragon Age Toolset will be part of a stage demonstration during the Penny Arcade Expo at 1:30pm, August 31, on the main stage.

These tools will allow consumers to create their own original adventures, create all kinds of scripts using the included script editor, access to a creator similar to what it set up for Neverwinter Nights and the promises of continual updates to the tools.
You can find out more about the tools and the game by visiting www.dragonage.com.